Vietnamese Egg Coffee Ca Phe Trung Recipe
A thick, dessert-like coffee with whipped egg yolk and sweetened condensed milk, which in Hanoi is drunk instead of cake. It tastes a bit like a mix of tiramisu and strong espresso, just served in a cup. It’s a great way to create a small Vietnamese coffee ritual at home after lunch or on a lazy weekend.
This Vietnamese egg coffee turns a simple espresso into a small dessert ritual. The thick, velvety egg cream on top contrasts beautifully with the strong, hot coffee underneath, giving you the impression of drinking liquid tiramisu from a cup.
Chef's tips
Use the freshest eggs you can find and bring them to room temperature before whipping – the cream will become fluffier and more stable. If you don’t have a mixer, you can whip the yolks by hand with a whisk, but it will take longer.
How to serve
Serve in pre-warmed espresso cups or small heatproof glasses. Offer a small spoon so you can first taste the egg cream on its own, then mix it gently with the coffee if you like a more uniform drink.
Ingredients
- coffee strong, freshly brewed, preferably from a moka pot or espresso machine - 200 ml
- egg yolk fresh, from room-temperature eggs - 2 piece
- sweetened condensed milk - 60 ml
- sugar about 1 teaspoon, optional, if you like it very sweet - 5 g
- vanilla a pinch of extract or vanilla sugar, optional - 1 g
- salt a pinch, enhances the coffee flavor - 1 g
- hot water for the water bath under the cups, if you want to keep the temperature - 500 ml
Preparation
- Brew strong coffee: use about 200 ml of a very intense brew (a double espresso per person or coffee from a moka pot). Set aside for a moment so it’s not boiling hot.
- Separate the yolks from the whites. Put the yolks into a tall bowl, making sure there are no pieces of shell.
- Add the condensed milk, sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt to the yolks.
- Beat the yolks with a hand mixer on high speed for 4–6 minutes, until the mixture becomes very pale, thick and fluffy, similar to whipped cream. When you lift the whisk, the mixture should slowly flow down, leaving a trail.
- Heat water in a pot, but do not bring it to a rolling boil. Place a metal or glass bowl with the whipped yolks on top and stir gently for 1–2 minutes so the mixture is slightly warm but not hot and not curdled.
- Pour the hot coffee into warm cups or glasses, leaving about 2 cm of space from the rim.
- Spoon a thick layer of the whipped egg mixture on top of each portion, gently, so it doesn’t mix with the coffee.
- Optionally place the cups in a shallow dish with hot water so the coffee stays warm longer. Serve immediately, drinking through the layer of egg cream.
Storage
Store only the whipped egg mixture in the fridge in a tightly closed container and use within 24 hours. Always brew fresh hot coffee just before serving and assemble the drink right before drinking.
I like to treat this coffee as a weekend dessert – I take my time whipping the yolks and brewing really good coffee. It feels like a small café experience at home, especially when served in pretty cups and enjoyed slowly.
